What's up for June? A planetary breakup, prime viewing for a well-known star cluster, and the constellation Lyra.
The gathering of four naked-eye planets we've been enjoying in the morning sky for the past few months — including several close conjunctions, is beginning to break up.
Over the next few months, Saturn, Mars, Jupiter and Venus will appear increasingly spread out across the morning sky — so much so that Venus and Saturn will make their exits as morning objects for most observers by September.
Look for this increasingly spaced out planetary precession in June, and note that the crescent moon jumps into the lineup on the morning of the 23rd.
Planets continue to make a show in the morning before sunrise in June, with the Moon joining the lineup on the 23rd. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. June is an excellent time to observe one of the best-known globular star clusters — M13, also known as the Hercules Cluster. Globular clusters are spherical collections of stars, tightly packed together in their centers. M13 itself contains several hundred thousand stars.
Globular clusters are also extremely old. The stars in M13 are thought to be around 12 billion years old, which is approaching the age of the universe itself. Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is known to have about 150 globular clusters. They orbit outside the galaxy's disk, traveling tens of thousands of light-years above and below its spiral arms and most of its stars.
Now, the Hercules Cluster is best observed with a telescope, and larger telescopes will allow you to see more of the cluster's stars. But you can also find it with a pair of binoculars, where it'll look like a hazy little spot.
Find M13 in the constellation Hercules, which is high in the east in the first couple of hours after dark in June.
First look for the bright stars Vega and Arcturus.
Then find the four stars that comprise "the Keystone," which is the pattern making up the central part of Hercules.
You'll find M13 about a third of the way between the two stars on the western, or leading, side of the Keystone.
So check out the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, M13, in June, and find yourself staring at an ancient gathering of stars that soars high above the Milky Way.
Finally in June, a quick introduction to one of the smaller constellations that's home to one of the brightest stars.
That's the constellation Lyra. It represents a lyre, or harp, played by the musician Orpheus in Greek mythology.
Find M13 in Hercules by first locating the stars that form the Keystone, about a third of the way between bright stars Vega and Arcturus. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. In Arab cultures, as well as ancient Egypt and India, Lyra was seen as an eagle. And the Inca of South America saw it as a llama.
Find Lyra by looking for Vega, which is the westernmost of the three bright stars in the Summer Triangle.
In the Northern Hemisphere, you'll find it halfway up the eastern sky in the first couple of hours after dark in June.
Vega is by far the brightest star in Lyra. It's the fifth brightest star in the sky and the second brightest in the Northern Hemisphere, after Sirius.
A pair of binoculars will help you see the others stars in Lyra, which form a sort of parallelogram hanging beneath it.
It's sometimes described as looking a bit like a diamond ring, with Vega as the diamond.
And that's not the only ring in Lyra. It's also home to the famous Ring Nebula, where a star has blown off most of its outer layers, leaving behind a remnant star known as a white dwarf.
So let the bright star Vega lead you to Lyra, the harp constellation, in the June sky. And if you see it as an eagle, or a diamond ring, or a llama, well that's perfectly OK too ...
Preston Dyches works for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Lyra is easy to locate in the sky, thanks to the brightness of Vega, which is part of the Summer Triangle asterism. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
On National Gun Violence Awareness Day, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced a new campaign to make California schools and communities safer through a community-based outreach campaign to promote Gun Violence Restraining Orders also known as “red flag” laws.
“Gun violence is an epidemic — too many Americans are forced to live in fear because of inaction,” said Gov. Newsom. “In California, we are taking action with common sense gun safety measures that get guns out of our communities and keep people safe.”
Red flag laws allow for the temporary removal of guns and ammunition from individuals who are at risk of harming themselves or others. They empower loved ones, or law enforcement, to intervene and temporarily prevent someone in crisis from accessing firearms.
California issued 3,007 gun violence restraining orders from 2016 to 2020. In 2020, the state issued 1,284 restraining orders, 15-times greater than the 85 issued in 2016.
This new $11 million,18-month campaign, administered through the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, will focus on outreach and education about California’s red flag laws to communities most at risk for gun violence.
The campaign includes:
$5 million in grants to local community-based domestic violence groups for community outreach.
$5 million for statewide outreach to communities most at risk of gun violence including education efforts, research and multilingual outreach.
$1 million for education and training for district attorneys and law enforcement groups.
The Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis Health last year released a study highlighting support for Gun Violence Restraining Orders and the need to raise public awareness around the issue.
Red flag laws are proven to be effective in reducing violence and death by guns. These laws can help de-escalate emergency situations. California is one of several states around the country that is increasingly emphasizing red flag laws as a common-sense way to help reduce gun violence.
“California has nation-leading gun safety laws,” said Mark Ghilarducci, director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. “Education and outreach about how to utilize red flag laws are critical to their success. This campaign will focus on educating families and law enforcement on the tools they have at their disposal to prevent gun violence.”
Enacted in 2014 following the Isla Vista Shooting, California’s red flag law authorizes law enforcement officers and others to file petitions for a civil court order called a Gun Violence Restraining Order to temporarily suspend a person’s access to firearms when they are found to pose a significant risk to themselves or others by having legal access to firearms or ammunition.
Gov. Newsom on Thursday released a fact sheet detailing California’s nation-leading record on gun safety. The governor also thanked President Joe Biden for his leadership on gun safety and joined him in calling on Congress to pass gun safety legislation.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Clearlake City Council on Thursday gave the owner of a dilapidated lakeside building that once was a popular city hot spot one more chance to submit the necessary engineering reports and get permits to begin renovations or else the building will be demolished.
The council held a special hour-and-a-half-long meeting Thursday afternoon to consider Roopa Shekar’s appeal after the city hearing officer — City Manager Alan Flora — denied her appeal of the city’s order to abate the building, located at 14525 Lakeshore Drive.
Once upon a time the building was known as the Lakeshore Inn, one of the busy lakeside resorts that in its heyday was “the place to be,” longtime city resident Bob Mingori told the council in an email this spring.
The building most recently housed the Sunflower Chinese restaurant, which operated there until it was closed in 2018. The city deemed it a health and safety hazard and a public nuisance in December 2018 and issued an abatement order on April 29, 2021.
The city had no luck getting the owner at that time to abate the building, and in July was set to approve a demolition contract when Shekar, who purchased it the previous month but said she did not know it was under an abatement order, came forward to ask for more time to renovate it.
However, with city officials reporting little progress had been made, in April the council voted to approve a contract with Chernoh Excavating to demolish and abate the structures, and since then Shekar has appealed to the city to let her continue her work.
City leadership has faulted Shekar for not getting the needed work done while Shekar said during Thursday’s hearing that the city hasn’t set realistic deadlines based on the work that needs to be accomplished.
Assistant City Attorney Dean Pucci of the Jones & Mayer law firm walked the council through the public hearing, explaining that it was not meant to get into the project’s merits but to consider whether or not to overturn Flora’s denial of Shekar’s appeal based on the information Flora had available to him during the April appeal hearing.
Shekar asked for a continuance to give her more time to bring in her team to discuss the matter, stating she only had eight days’ notice. The council denied that request and moved forward with hearing the appeal.
Councilman Russ Cremer asked Shekar how much time she needed to get the required reports to the city in order to receive permits to move forward. Shekar said six weeks.
Councilwoman Joyce Overton asked if the council could give Shekar a certain amount of time to try to meet the requirements and avoid abatement. Pucci said that once the council made a decision on the appeal, it could tack on whatever parameters that it wished for how staff should handle the abatement.
Greg Palmer, another lawyer with Jones & Mayer who works on code enforcement matters, assisted Code Enforcement Manager Lee Lambert with his presentation to the council.
Lambert reviewed the nearly four years of effort by the city to see the property cleaned up and improved, ending in the April council vote on the abatement contract and Flora’s subsequent denial of Shekar’s abatement appeal.
Shekar said the hearing wasn’t fair because none of her latest pictures showing the work she has done on the building were included in the evidence offered.
The pictures Lambert presented to the council showed the building’s deteriorating interior, with damaged walls and the ceiling, holes in the Sheetrock, missing and damaged flooring, and mold in the bathrooms.
In response to questioning from Palmer, Lambert said it was his opinion that the building needed to be demolished. While he said it was possible that it could be renovated, it may not be viable due to cost.
Shekar told the council that she has continued her efforts to complete plans in order to do the work. She brought out what appeared to be architectural plans on large sheets of paper and showed them to the council.
She said she has cleaned the building, secured it and put up cameras.
Asked by Lake County News during the meeting’s public comment portion about what Shekar needed to do in order to get permits and start work, Flora said the way to cure the violations is to acquire a building permit.
From the very beginning, Flora said, Shekar needed to submit engineered plans in order to get that permit.
Flora said he had agreed to hold off on making a decision in Shekar’s first appeal hearing for two weeks in order to allow her to contract with an engineer and a general contractor.
Shekar said she had submitted a letter from a general contractor but Mayor Dirk Slooten said that letter did not constitute a contract, as the city required.
Pucci told Shekar the hearing was her opportunity to present to the council what she felt was flawed in the April appeal hearing before Flora. “We’re bleeding over into more of a request for more time and continuance and evidence of what Ms. Shekar has or has not done” and not whether Flora made the proper decision with the information he had at the time.
Cremer said he had been hoping Shekar would succeed. “It can only go so far and it’s been nearly a year now,” he said.
Shekar said the project has been extremely challenging, with finding people to do the work one of the key problems. It took almost three months to complete an as-is build plan.
“Your credibility is becoming a little thinner to me, to be honest,” said Cremer, pointing out that she had tried to get a roofing permit before she had looked at the soundness of the walls or foundation.
In looking at the photos presented as evidence, Overton said she saw a lot of Sheetrock damage which is repairable, but no evidence of structure problems.
“Why is it that we consider this structurally unsound? Where is the proof from our side that this is structurally unsound?” she asked.
Slooten pointed to a letter from an engineer that said there were structural issues, but Overton replied that none of the evidence said the building was unsafe to repair.
The council voted unanimously to uphold Flora’s decision to deny Shekar’s appeal of the abatement order against her property.
However, council members also directed staff to give Shekar the opportunity to submit the engineered plans in order to get the building permit.
Her new deadline to complete those tasks is Aug. 1. If the building permit is issued before then, Flora won’t sign the contract for Chernoh Excavating to demolish the building.
“You’ve got to follow through with this because we're being lenient here,” said Overton.
Police Chief Andrew White also noted that the property has high weeds that need to be mowed. Shekar said she would take care of it.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The Summer Reading Display at the Lakeport Branch of the Lake County Library. Courtesy photo. LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Library's annual Summer Reading Challenge begins Saturday, June 4. This year the theme is to “Read beyond the Beaten Path.”
By signing up for summer reading with the library, children, teens and adults can win various prizes, including stickers, small toys, a Kindle Fire tablet or local business gift cards.
Participating in the library program is a great way for everyone to challenge themselves to read more.
For students, reading over summer break can prevent learning loss and help them start the next school year out on the right page. Reading for fun is a great way to build vocabulary and literacy skills.
The library has programs for pre-K, kids, teens, and adults. Children who can't quite read on their own can still sign up and parents can record the books that they read together.
Starting on June 4 residents can register on the Library's summer reading website. Registration is open at any time until summer reading ends on Aug. 6.
Anyone who wants to sign up can head to the library website at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and click “Summer Reading.”
Residents can also sign up in person by visiting their local branch. On the first day of Summer Reading, Saturday, June 4, at 10 a.m., each library is hosting a Super Sign Up event with crafts and fun games.
Once registered, participants can start reading books and get points by logging their reading, either online or by visiting the library. All reading counts as long as it’s from the library, including eBooks, print books, audiobooks, magazines and comics.
The library offers prizes to make summer reading more fun. For adults and teens there will be a prize drawing at the end of the program. The more points participants earn the greater chance they have to win. The Friends of the Lake County Library, a community nonprofit membership organization, provides all the prizes.
Once participants read enough to earn 1,000 points the Friends of the Lake County Library will donate a book to the library in their name. The book will have their name inside commemorating their reading achievement and they will be the first person to check it out.
The ninth annual California Invasive Species Action Week, or CISAW, runs from Saturday, June 4, through Sunday, June 12.
Sponsored by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, or CDFW, this week provides an opportunity for Californians to learn about the hundreds of harmful non-native plants and animals that threaten our state’s natural resources, ecology and economy.
Historically, agencies, nonprofits and volunteer organizations across the state have teamed up to host events for CISAW.
As the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, the format now includes both in-person and virtual events such as webinars and videos.
Volunteer opportunities can be found in all parts of the state, such as:
• Attend a habitat restoration event at Trinidad State Beach near Humboldt where volunteers will pitch in to pull up ivy and other invasive non-native species. • Join Friends of Five Creeks in Berkeley in their efforts to eradicate invasive foxtails from near Codornices Creek. • Protect the American River Parkway in Sacramento by removing broom with the American River Parkway Foundation. • Help protect and restore coastal dune and bluff scrub habitats at Half Moon Bay State Beach by assisting with the removal of invasive cape ivy, mustard, thistles and hemlock from coastal scrub areas. • Be a “Weed Warrior” at Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego, by assisting with efforts to remove non-native grasses and other invasive plants from the landscape.
Get details for these events and find many more by visiting the CISAW schedule on CDFW’s website.
You can also watch webinars and learn about how you can stop the spread of invasive species by taking small, everyday actions, such as landscaping with native plants, not releasing unwanted pets into the wild, reporting invasive species findings, and cleaning, draining and drying gear when recreating in bodies of water.
The CISAW website lists simple actions Californians can take all year long while visiting natural areas, boating or fishing, or at home. Join our Digital Scavenger Hunt and track invasive species in your local neighborhood or park.
On Friday, June 10, CDFW will announce the winners of the annual California Invasive Species Youth Art Contest on social media. This year’s theme was “Unite to Fight Invasive Species!”
The mission of CDFW’s Invasive Species Program is to reduce the impacts of invasive species on the wildlands and waterways of California.
The program is involved in efforts to prevent the introduction of these species into the state, detect and respond to introductions when they occur and prevent the spread of those species that have established.
For questions or more information about CISAW, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — Clearlake Animal Control continues to offer seven dogs that have been cleared for new homes.
The City of Clearlake Animal Association also is seeking fosters for the animals waiting to be adopted.
Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions and schedule a visit to the shelter.
Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.
The following dogs are available for adoption.
“Colt.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Colt’
“Colt” is a male Rhodesian Ridgeback mix with a short rust and black coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 49812106.
“Bear.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Bear’
“Bear” is a male Labrador retriever-American pit bull mix with a short charcoal and fawn coat.
He has been neutered.
“Andy.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Andy’
“Andy” is a male American pit bull mix with a short gray and white coat.
He is dog No. 48995415.
“Big Phil.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Big Phil’
“Big Phil” is a 13-year-old male American pit bull terrier mix with a blue coat.
He is dog No. 49951647.
“Chai.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Chai’
“Chai” is a female Alaskan husky mix with a gray and white coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 49279552.
“Snowball.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Snowball’
“Snowball” is a male American Staffordshire mix terrier with a white coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 49159168.
“Terry.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control. ‘Terry’
“Terry” is a handsome male shepherd mix with a short brindle coat.
He gets along with other dogs, including small ones, and is discovering that he enjoys toys. He also likes water, playing fetch and keep away.
Staff said he is now getting some training to help him build confidence.
He is dog No. 48443693.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Superior Court said that due to low COVID-19 transmission rates it plans to transition back to jury selection at the courthouse and in-person appearances in criminal cases.
Nearly one year ago Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Public Health removed all physical distancing limits.
For the last several months the cases rates and hospitalizations locally have remained relatively low and stable.
Accordingly, effective June 29, the Lake County Superior Court said jury selection will return to the Lakeport Courthouse at 255 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport.
Jury selection has been taking place for some time at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Lakeport.
In cooperation with the county of Lake, when possible the jury check-in and orientation process will occur in the Board of Supervisors chambers, court officials said.
Other changes include the end of remote proceedings in criminal cases.
Effective July 1, court officials said the remaining statewide emergency rules will be rescinded.
As a result, all criminal calendars except daily in-custody arraignments will return to in-person appearances.
The court continues to allow remote appearances in many family law and civil proceedings.
Additional information can be found on the court’s website.
An artist’s illustration of the James Webb Space Telescope. Courtesy of NASA.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, will release its first full-color images and spectroscopic data on July 12.
As the largest and most complex observatory ever launched into space, Webb has been going through a six-month period of preparation before it can begin science work, calibrating its instruments to its space environment and aligning its mirrors.
This careful process, not to mention years of new technology development and mission planning, has built up to the first images and data: a demonstration of Webb at its full power, ready to begin its science mission and unfold the infrared universe.
“As we near the end of preparing the observatory for science, we are on the precipice of an incredibly exciting period of discovery about our universe. The release of Webb’s first full-color images will offer a unique moment for us all to stop and marvel at a view humanity has never seen before,” said Eric Smith, Webb program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “These images will be the culmination of decades of dedication, talent, and dreams — but they will also be just the beginning.”
Behind the scenes: Creating Webb’s first images
Deciding what Webb should look at first has been a project more than five years in the making, undertaken by an international partnership between NASA, ESA, CSA, and the Space Telescope Science Institute, or STScI, in Baltimore, home to Webb’s science and mission operations.
“Our goals for Webb’s first images and data are both to showcase the telescope’s powerful instruments and to preview the science mission to come,” said astronomer Klaus Pontoppidan, Webb project scientist at STScI. “They are sure to deliver a long-awaited ‘wow’ for astronomers and the public.”
Once each of Webb’s instruments has been calibrated, tested, and given the green light by its science and engineering teams, the first images and spectroscopic observations will be made.
The team will proceed through a list of targets that have been preselected and prioritized by an international committee to exercise Webb’s powerful capabilities.
Then the production team will receive the data from Webb’s instrument scientists and process it into images for astronomers and the public.
“I feel very privileged to be a part of it,” said Alyssa Pagan, a science visuals developer at STScI. “Typically, the process from raw telescope data to final, clean image that communicates scientific information about the universe can take anywhere from weeks to a month,” Pagan said.
What will we see?
While careful planning for Webb’s first full-color images has been underway for a long time, the new telescope is so powerful that it is difficult to predict exactly how the first images will look.
“Of course, there are things we are expecting and hoping to see, but with a new telescope and this new high-resolution infrared data, we just won’t know until we see it,” said STScI’s lead science visuals developer Joseph DePasquale.
Early alignment imagery has already demonstrated the unprecedented sharpness of Webb’s infrared view. However, these new images will be the first in full color and the first to showcase Webb’s full science capabilities.
In addition to imagery, Webb will be capturing spectroscopic data — detailed information astronomers can read in light.
The first images package of materials will highlight the science themes that inspired the mission and will be the focus of its work: the early universe, the evolution of galaxies through time, the life cycle of stars, and other worlds.
All of Webb’s commissioning data — the data taken while aligning the telescope and preparing the instruments — will also be made publicly available.
What’s next?
Science! After capturing its first images, Webb’s scientific observations will begin, continuing to explore the mission’s key science themes. Teams have already applied through a competitive process for time to use the telescope, in what astronomers call its first “cycle,” or first year of observations. Observations are carefully scheduled to make the most efficient use of the telescope’s time.
These observations mark the official beginning of Webb’s general science operations — the work it was designed to do. Astronomers will use Webb to observe the infrared universe, analyze the data collected, and publish scientific papers on their discoveries.
Beyond what is already planned for Webb, there are the unexpected discoveries astronomers can’t anticipate. One example: In 1990 when the Hubble Space Telescope launched, dark energy was completely unknown. Now it is one of the most exciting areas of astrophysics. What will Webb discover?
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory. Webb will solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.
John Rennie Short, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
The COVID-19 pandemic has generated mind-numbing statistics over the past two years: half a billion cases, 6 million deaths, 1 million in the U.S. alone. But another, less-publicized global scourge preceded it and is likely to outlast it: traffic deaths and injuries.
Around 1.35 million people die each year on the world’s roads, and another 20 million to 50 million are seriously injured. Half of these deaths and many of the injuries involve pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists – the most vulnerable users of roads and streets.
Around the world, someone dies from a road accident every 25 seconds. The head of the United Nations Road Safety Fund has called road deaths and injuries a “silent epidemic on wheels”.
It may seem like hyperbole to talk about road deaths as equivalent to pandemic diseases, but the numbers make the case. Road fatalities are now the top cause of death for children and young adults worldwide between the ages of 5 and 29, and the seventh-leading cause of death overall in low-income countries.
Crashes cause serious economic harm to victims and their families, as well as to the broader society. A 2019 study estimated that between 2015 and 2030, road injuries will cost the global economy almost $1.8 trillion.
Richer nations have had mass automobile traffic longer than lower-income countries, so they have had more time to develop strategies and tactics to reduce accidents and fatalities. For example, in 1937 – in an era when traffic death in the streets of cities like New York was considered a routine part of metropolitan life – the U.S. road death rate was 31 per 100,000. That’s about the same as today’s rate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Lower-income countries tend to have vehicles that are less safe; poorer roads; more vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists, sharing urban space with vehicles; and poorer medical care, which means injury can more easily lead to death. These nations also have less ability to introduce or enforce traffic laws.
Traffic in Manila, Philippines.John Rennie Short, CC BY-ND
Traffic incidents in higher-income counties often only involve one or two people. In lower-income countries, incidents tend to involve multiple passengers.
For example, in 2021 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a fuel truck collided with a crowded bus 110 miles outside the capital of Kinshasa, killing 33 people. Deadly road incidents are frequent in the DRC, where the roads are poor, there are many unsafe older vehicles, many drivers are not properly trained and drinking and driving is common.
For many middle-income countries, the challenge is a very rapid increase in vehicular traffic as the population becomes more urban and more people earn enough money to buy motorcycles and cars. This quick rise can overwhelm the carrying capacity of urban roads.
In the US, less regulation and more deaths
There also are differences among richer countries. In 1994, Europe and the United States had the same traffic death rates, but by 2020 Americans were over three times more likely to die on the road than Europeans.
Traffic deaths in the U.S. rose by more than 10% from 2020 to 2021.
Today, 12 people are killed in traffic per 100,000 annually in the U.S., compared to 4 per 100,000 in the Netherlands and Germany, and only 2 per 100,000 in Norway. The difference reflects more aggressive programs across Europe to reduce speeds, greater investment in mass transit and stricter drunk driving enforcement.
The U.S. doesn’t just lag behind other rich countries in promoting road safety. In recent years, traffic deaths in the U.S. have increased. After a gradual reduction over 50 years, fatalities soared to a 16-year high in 2021 when almost 43,000 people died. Pedestrian deaths hit a 40-year high at 7,500.
Cyclist and pedestrian traffic deaths were rising even before the pandemic, as cities encouraged walking and biking without providing adequate infrastructure. Painting a white line on a busy street is not a substitute for providing a fully protected, designated bicycle lane.
Two harmful narratives about traffic safety
Two narratives often cloud discussions of traffic fatalities. First, calling these events “accidents” normalizes what I view as a slaughter of innocents. It is part of the cult of automobility and the primacy that the U.S. affords to fast-moving vehicular traffic.
Automobility has created a special form of space – roads and highways – where deaths and injuries are considered “accidents.” In my view, this is an extreme form of environmental injustice. Historically disadvantaged groups and poorer communities are overrepresented in traffic deaths and injuries.
The second misleading narrative holds that nearly all road deaths and injuries are caused by human error. Public officials regularly blame poor drivers, distracted pedestrians and aggressive bicyclists for street deaths.
People do take too many risks. In recent years, AAA’s annual traffic safety culture survey has found that a majority of drivers view unsafe driving behaviors, such as texting while driving or speeding on highways, as extremely or very dangerous. But significant numbers of drivers report engaging in those behaviors anyway.
But as urban studies expert David Zipper has pointed out, a persistent myth often cited by government agencies and the media asserts that 94% of accidents in the U.S. are caused by individual drivers. This bloated figure has successfully shifted responsibility away from other factors such as car design, traffic infrastructure and the need for more effective public policies.
Former New York City transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan visits a street in Queens that was closed to cars during the COVID-19 pandemic. Advocates are campaigning to make the closure permanent.
Governments have the tools
As I see it, road traffic deaths and injuries are not accidents. They are incidents that can be prevented and reduced. Doing that will require governments and urban planners to reimagine transportation systems not just for speed and efficiency, but also for safety and livability.
That will mean protecting motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians from vehicular traffic and reducing traffic speed on urban roads. It also will require better road design, enforcement of traffic laws that make the roads safer, and more effective and enforceable measures that promote safety devices like seat belts, child restraints, and helmets for bikers and motorcyclists.
Unlike the COVID-19 pandemic, making streets safer doesn’t require designing new solutions in laboratories. What’s needed is the will to apply tools that have been shown to work.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — A Caltrans worker died Friday after being struck by a driver while working along Interstate 80 in Solano County.
The California Department of Transportation said it is mourning the death of Quandra McGadney, 51, of Vallejo, a landscape maintenance worker for the department.
McGadney was killed while working near Lagoon Valley Road on Interstate 80.
Just after 10 a.m. Friday, McGadney was struck by a hit-and-run driver on westbound I-80 near Vacaville. She succumbed to her injuries on-scene. The California Highway Patrol has arrested a suspect.
“Jennifer and I were saddened to learn of the death of Caltrans Maintenance Worker Quanda McGadney, a dedicated public servant to the state for more than 18 years. We extend our deepest sympathies to her family, friends and Caltrans colleagues for their loss,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a Friday evening statement.
McGadney had served the people of California for more than 18 years and joined Caltrans in 2018.
She is survived by her 9-year-old daughter, Nairobi, and her two sisters, Priscilla Stevenson and Candice McGadney.
“The loss of one of our own public servants in this tragic incident is being felt heavily within the Caltrans family today. Our thoughts and heartfelt support are focused on her family, friends and colleagues at this time,” said Caltrans Acting Director Steven Keck.
McGadney is the first Caltrans District 4 (Bay Area) employee to die on the job since 2017. She is the 37th in the history of District 4 and the 190th Caltrans worker to lose their life on the job since 1921.
“This tragedy is particularly painful, coming so close to our workers memorial service just a little over a month ago, and drives home how dangerous our work on California’s roadways can be,” said Keck. “Our focus on safety and the ‘Move Over’ law, and asking the public to increase their awareness of the people working on the highways on their behalf are part of our continued effort to eliminate these tragic incidents.”
To help Quanda’s family at this difficult time, a memorial fund is being established through the California Transportation Foundation.
In honor of McGadney, Capitol, and Capitol swing space, flags will be flown at half-staff.
From left, incumbent Richard Ford and challenger Hannah Faith Lee are running to be Lake County’s assessor-record. Courtesy photos. LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Assessor-Recorder’s Office is an agency that plays an important role in county government finances, and it’s not often one that many people think about unless they’re getting a property tax bill late in the year.
The elected position that runs the office is not often contested in elections unless there is a retirement.
However, 2022 is different, and this year the assessor-recorder’s race is one of the strongly contested races on the June 7 primary ballot.
Incumbent Richard Ford is seeking a third term, and he’s being challenged by Hannah Faith Lee, a local businesswoman and deputy county public guardian.
The Assessor-Recorder’s Office is a key fiscal office for the county of Lake, and one that oversees a main source of general fund money — the property tax roll.
Ford said the property tax roll supplies between 50 and 55% of the general fund — the county receives approximately 25 cents of every property tax dollar — and in so doing is a key revenue source for local schools, cities and the county itself. He calls it a tiny office with a “big bang” financially.
This is only the third time in 20 years that the assessor-recorder’s job has been contested.
The last time was in 2014, when Ford won election over Sorhna Li Jordan, both of whom were seeking to succeed longtime Assessor-Recorder Doug Wacker. In 2002 Wacker won a contested race over Michael Wochna, a year after the Board of Supervisors appointed Wacker to succeed Dan Irwin.
This year, key issues in the race revolve around increased property tax bills that 1,000 county residents received last year due to restored base year values under Proposition 8, which had given property tax relief as a result of the recession, and recording times for documents, which local real estate professionals in particular have complained about since the county allowed a temporary Friday closure of offices two years ago. Those closures have since been lifted.
Ford and Lee said in interviews with Lake County News that neither had originally intended to run for political office.
Ford said he first ran for the office eight years ago in response to a retirement and Lee is challenging Ford because she said she’s responding to how he’s handled issues like adjusting values under Proposition 8 due to an improved market.
Lee’s background, experience and accomplishments
Lee, 34, grew up in Sonoma County and moved to Lake County with her family in 2005, at age 18.
Her father is a contractor who at that time built spec homes but switched to general construction after the housing crash. Her parents and a sister still live in Lake County. Lee and her fiance, Matt Sesser, live in Kelseyville.
She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and business management from Marymount California University, associates degrees in business and income tax preparation, and multiple certifications in accounting and income tax preparation from Yuba Community College, now Woodland Community College.
Lee said she worked in fast food — specifically, at Pizza Hut — and then started a career as a veterinary technician, before moving on to social work.
She participated in committees with other counties for Adult Protective Services and In-Home Supportive Services and was part of a successful effort to provide emergency housing for elders in abusive situations.
She and Sesser purchased Main Street Bicycles on Jan. 1, 2021, changing its name to Konocti Bicycles.
The business has had significant negative publicity due to its previous owner’s prosecution for child pornography, but Lee said they were able to get through that challenge to relaunch and rebrand the business successfully.
Lee currently works as a deputy public guardian for the county of Lake, taking care of more than 80 individuals and their estates, with totals ranging from $5,000 to $1.5 million.
In that capacity, she’s held accountable by the courts, and she follows the probate code to the letter. She said she oversees all aspects of the lives of the people in her care.
“I’m not just a social worker,” she said. “I bring the numbers side as well as the human side.”
Ford’s background, experience and accomplishments
Ford, 52, grew up in Southern California. He is married with two sons and has been a longtime scoutmaster and assistant scoutmaster.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and a Master’s in Business Administration degree, as well as state of California appraisal, auditor-appraisal and advanced appraiser licenses.
He held various accounting jobs and worked for a Fortune 500 company. After going through two large mergers, he decided to seek work in the government.
About 10 years ago Lake County Auditor-Controller/County Cathy Saderlund hired him as her assistant-auditor controller. Two years later, Doug Wacker announced he planned to retire from the assessor-recorder’s job.
While Ford had never planned to run for office, he believed he had the financial background and skills to hold the office, so he ran and won.
During his first two terms, Ford said he has built up a staff after longtime challenges with hiring, which is a countywide problem.
When he started nearly eight years ago, there were four full-time appraisers in his office; now there are seven. He also had no auditor-appraisers when he began and now there are three, with one scheduled to be certified next year. There was one advanced appraiser and now there are four; next year, one more will be certified.
He said that during his tenure, the property tax roll has increased from $6.6 billion to $8.2 billion.
Overall, Ford said his office monitors in its system about 100,000 Items; that includes approximately 80,000 properties and 20,000 recordings of documents.
Ford said he and his staff had a large work backlog when he began as assessor-recorder; he estimates they have gotten through 75% of it.
That backlog and what it means has been a frequent talking point during the campaign.
In response to a question about the backlog’s specifics, Ford said the backlog originally included 10,800 properties that needed to have a Proposition 8 review, with that number now down to 4,000; 350 assessments appeals, which have been reduced to 23; and 7,000 newly permitted properties that have to be entered into the system, which is now down to 4,000.
He said he’s turned his office into a learning environment, with daily training and an approach that emphasizes learning from mistakes, not getting in trouble for them. As a result, he said things are getting done faster and more efficiently. “Our accuracy has increased substantially.”
They’ve also reduced the number of assessment appeals. Previously, there were 300 to 400 a year. Now, Ford said it’s down to about two dozen. They’re willing to take additional information from property owners and look at ways to make their assessments more accurate in making final determinations.
When Ford first arrived in office, the Lake County Assessor-Recorder's Office was not self-funded by fees, as is the case for most other assessor-recorder’s offices statewide.
Instead, the office needed to draw $160,000 a year from the general fund because its fees were too low by about half, and were the lowest in the state, Ford said.
By raising the fees, Ford said his department became self-funded and is now about to give back $20,000 to the general fund.
Reasons for running
Incumbents bring with them a record of performance and experience, which can also lead to criticism. This campaign season, Ford has been criticized for how he’s handled certain issues, from updating property values under Proposition 8, to recording documents for real estate transactions, to questions about why fire survivors’ property values haven’t been adjusted.
He said he’s tried to answer that criticism and clean up misunderstandings, but he added, “I’m probably the worst politician you've ever seen, to be honest.”
Asked why he is running again, he called it “a very good question,” noting that it’s a tough job and during his tenure there have been no “normal years” with so many fires, floods and now the pandemic.
During the Ranch and River fires in 2018, when all of Lakeport was evacuated, his staff had to grab laptops and set up a separate office at the Social Services Department in Lower Lake.
“We’ve become a lot more nimble technology-wise,” he said.
He added, “I’ve got the best staff in the world.”
He points to the work he’s done so far as a reason for continuing in office. Along with that, Ford said seeking a third term is a matter of “wanting to finish the job, really,” to finish the work he started nearly eight years ago, including whittling down a backlog of thousands of properties needing Proposition 8 value adjustments and getting the office on a stronger technological footing.
For challengers, like Lee, the biggest criticism is usually lack of experience. She said she believes she can learn the job and get up to speed in order to make improvements.
Lee said she wasn’t looking to run for a political position at all; however, there were two prompts that led her to putting her name on the ballot.
One of those issues arose last fall, when new property tax bills went out two weeks before the due date.
For approximately 1,000 property owners, that’s when they found out that property tax relief that they had received through Proposition 8 had ended and that their bills had gone up significantly.
Lake County News spoke to several property owners who got big bills last fall and who didn’t remember having asked the county for the temporary reduction in the first place.
Under Proposition 8, properties that qualify are given a temporary reduction in their taxable value as a result of their properties’ market value being less than the assessed value.
He said that during the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009, before he took office, there were many applications for relief through Proposition 8, and that the reductions had ended due to the improved market.
Ford explained it this way: Someone bought a house in 2008 for $500,000 and in 2010 the house was only worth $200,000. As a result, the property tax value was reduced to $200K at that time.
When the market recovered and their house value was worth $400,000, “We are obligated by law to restore their value” up to the correct amount, Ford said.
Lee said she’s not contesting that restoring those property tax values were necessary. “It had to be done.”
What she does take issue with is that there should have been communication months in advance between the Assessor-Recorder’s Office and the affected property owners, some of whom she said are on fixed incomes. Finding out at the last minute didn’t give them a chance to rework their budgets before the holidays, she said.
Many people went on social media to discuss the matter. “Communication would have been key in helping those individuals,” Lee said.
She said many of those impacted didn’t remember asking for such a temporary reduction. “I don’t remember what I did 12 years ago.”
People familiar with Lee’s work as a deputy public guardian asked her to consider running for assessor-recorder. Lee said she then sat down and spoke to Sesser about it and the potential impact on their life together.
Ultimately, she made the decision to run because she believes change needs to occur. It’s something she said she feels strongly about, because she believes that communication, service and accountability need to be brought back to the office.
“It needs to be addressed immediately,” she said.
Lee said she’s not just a social worker, she has the ability to translate the numbers in ways people can understand.
Ford responds to criticisms
One of the recurring complaints against Ford that he said he has worked to dispel revolves around Friday closures that had involved all county offices in the courthouse in an effort to let departments catch up because of the county government’s job vacancy rate, which has remained above 20%, as well as workloads exacerbated by the wildland fires and economic challenges.
Ford told Lake County News that the Friday closures did benefit the office greatly by allowing staff to catch up.
The office closures began in August 2018, after the Board of Supervisors voted to support a request by then-County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson to start a pilot program to close county offices — particularly those in and around the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport — to the public on Fridays.
During a November 2020 meeting, the supervisors voted unanimously to phase out the Friday closures by the end of March 2021. During that discussion, several real estate professionals spoke to the board about the challenges the closures had created for their profession. At the same time, neither Ford nor any members of his staff were present for the discussion or could be reached to take part in it.
Numerous letters to the editor from some of those same business owners this campaign season have pointed to those issues and have continued to criticize Ford for the office closures — which ended more than a year ago.
Ford said he’s tried to counter the belief that the closures are continuing, along with complaints by real estate agents and brokers that his office only records documents at certain times of the day. He said he’s sent out a white paper to real estate agents in an attempt to dispel that idea.
As explanation, Ford said title company recording appointments were reduced from two times per day to one per day based on the COVID-19 protocols implemented by the Board of Supervisors. As soon as the protocols were lifted, the title company recording appointments were restored to two times per day, he said.
“The only reason we have appointments is to accommodate the public and the title companies at the same time,” Ford said. “The public traditionally comes during lunch hours. We schedule the title companies an appointment before and after the lunch hours. This allows both the public and title companies to get processed quickly and reduce wait times for both.”
In response to criticisms about the length of time it takes to turn around documents for recording, Ford said his office has to follow state rules and internal controls and make sure to properly follow the process to protect documents.
Ford said he believed he’d had a good relationship with real estate agents and has tried to keep them “as abreast of the information as possible,” and so he’s been puzzled by their criticism of his performance.
Lee said the issues with the real estate community boiled down, again, to a breakdown in communication that Ford could have explained to the community.
She said she’s also spoken to fire survivors who have told her that they continue to pay property tax for homes that have burned. She said she’s reached out to Sonoma County, which did significant outreach to property owners impacted by the Kincaid and Tubbs fires, to find out how they handled the matter.
She said the county needs to make sure it's not adding to the suffering of fire survivors by taxing them as if their property hadn’t been destroyed.
Ford responded that fire/calamity reduction of valuation is based on Section 170 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, which calls for removing the valuation of damaged properties where the damage is above $10,000. The value of the land and a small valuation is required for utilities to remain.
“To the best of our knowledge all fire victims from all fires have had their valuation removed,” said Ford. He added that if there are any properties that residents feel have not had their valuation removed, he asked them to contact his office and they will apply section 170 reduction as soon as possible if it applies.
Lee said she’s been criticized for accepting endorsements. “In my mind endorsements do not mean quid pro quo.”
She said she also wants to institute electronic recording, as is used in other counties.
Ford said that process is well underway but that the company that handles county property tax systems announced that it’s leaving California. His office is now working on a new sealed bid process to select a new vendor. Electronic recording is processed through a module of the recording system and the module will be purchased with the new recording system.
Goals and priorities
For Lee, most of whose management experience came from her earlier career when she worked in fast food, the very first thing she would do is meet with every employee individually to get their input on what works and what doesn’t, what needs to change and what should remain. She plans to acknowledge their concerns and set meaningful goals for them.
While she likes the idea of regular training, she said she thinks Ford’s practice of daily training may be a bit much and that it can be done less frequently. There also are opportunities she’s aware of to send staff to continuing education training with the State Board of Equalization.
She said she wants to see a memorandum of understanding reached between the treasurer-tax collector, assessor-recorder and auditor-controller so that each knows how it works with the other key finance departments.
“The people of Lake County cannot continue to have a government that is not speaking to each other,” she said, explaining departments have to put aside differences. “We need to move forward now and take care of the citizens of Lake County.”
Lee will need to get a temporary appraiser’s certificate if she’s elected, but she said it’s “not a difficult thing to do.”
She said she has a college degree and school comes easily for her, so she doesn’t anticipate any problems doing that.
Among his priorities, Ford wants to continue getting through the backlog.
His initial estimate was that it would take 10 years to work through it, and that he’s close to being on schedule. “I’m naturally a fixer.”
Ford estimated that he needs another two to three years to complete the backlog, explaining that the work likely would have been completed had it not been for the county’s fires and the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said he doesn’t want to leave the work undone, and it feels a little bit like Don Quixote.
Ford also wants to complete the succession planning he’s started, which he says is important due to the assessor-recorder being a key financial office.
Ultimately, Ford said he wants to see the community succeed.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Redwood Credit Union Branch Experience Manager Becky Perez and Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg with the Advocate of the Year Award at the 14th annual Early Educator Awards Dinner on Friday, May 13, 2022, at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Lakeport, California. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Office of Education.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Office of Education’s Lake County Quality Counts held its 14th annual Early Educator Awards Dinner on May 13 at the Lake County Fairgrounds.
It was a night of celebration, highlighting the hard work and dedication of the early educators in Lake County.
This includes family child care providers, preschool teachers, Head Start, Early Head Start, Migrant Head Start teachers, North Coast Opportunities Rural Communities Child Care and First 5 Lake County.
Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry and Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg were on hand to acknowledge the good work of all 39 nominees.
“Research shows that quality early childhood education is associated with higher measures of early language and math development,” Falkenberg said. “Congratulations to all of the nominees who work so hard to provide that quality experience to the youngest members of Lake County.”
The Early Educator Award recipients for 2022 are:
• Preschool Teacher Award: Denise Villalobos, NCO Head Start.
• Infant/Toddler Teacher Award: Audrey Edlow, Early Head Start.
• Outstanding Program Support Award: Paige Braun, Early Head Start.
• Home Visitor Award: Brook Diggs, Early Head Start.
• Inclusion Award: Aldo Rodriguez, NCO Head Start.
• Leading the Field Award: Jamie Castaldo, NCO Rural Communities Child Care.
• Advocate Award: Soledad Aguayo, Easter Seals.
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Joy Swartz, NCO Head Start.
Angela Cuellar-Marroquin, Lake County Child Care Planning Council director, explained the importance of these awards. “Early education is the foundation of a successful academic career. It’s a time that we recognize the hard work that the early educators do each and every day.”
This event was made possible through the sponsorship of Redwood Credit Union, Lake County Tribal Health Consortium, First 5 Lake County, NCO Rural Communities Child Care, Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Middletown Rancheria Twin Pine Casino, Lake County Department of Social Services, Mary Prather, Learning Genie and That Ranch.
To learn more about the LCOE LCQC program, visit our website at www.lakecoe.org/LCQC.
